Vent shield



Oct. 29, 1935. c. A. FLANAGAN 2,018,714

VENT SHIELD Original Filed Jan. 30, 1952 Charles 14. Flanagan INVENTOR WITNESS ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 29, 1935 PATENT OFFICE VENT SHIELD Charles A. Flanagan, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Swift and Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Original application January 30, 1932, Serial No.

Divided and this application January 20, 1934, Serial No. 707,560

3 Claims.

This application is a division of my application entitled Triangular prism shaped tin, Serial No. 589,802, filed January 30, 1932.

The invention of the present application re- 6 lates to a vent shield. An object of the present invention is to provide a tin or receptacle for processing and packing meat capable, during the processing of the meat product, of collapsing inwardly to a limited degree for more firmly packing the meat product within the tin and to expel and effectually exclude air from the packed meat product by so completely filling the tin with the meat that when the tin is sealed the condition of the meat product will remain unchanged.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vent shield in such a tin.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the body portion of a triangular prism shaped :in constructed in accordance with this invenion.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the prism shaped tin partly in section.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view illustrating the manner of securing the top of the tin to the side walls of the same.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, I designates a substantially triangular prism shaped tin for processing and packing ham and other meat products. The tin or receptacle I has a substantially triangular bottom 2 and a substantially triangular top 3 which are secured at their marginal edges to the vertical side walls 4 of the tin by lower and upper seams 5 and 6.

The tin is provided with rounded corners I and the sides 4 are straight. flat or plane sides. The bottom is inset by means of a substantially L-shaped marginal flange 8 which is bent around the lower edges of the vertical walls 4 and interlocked with the same to form the said bottom seam 5.

The top 3 is provided with a marginal flange 9 which is substantially L-shaped in cross section and which is bent around the upper edges of the side walls of the tin and interlocked with the same to form the said upper seam 6. This marginal flange 9 insets the top 3 below the plane of the upper edges of the side walls of the tin, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The side walls of the tin are preferably constructed of a single piece of sheet metal united at one of the rounded corners by a vertical seam NJ, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. In the processing of the meat as described and claimed in the aforesaid application, the meat is first pressed into a square or oblong prism shape with slightly rounded corners so that there is a proper distribution of the component muscles of the meat product. The pressed meat is then placed in a mitre box and is cut diagonally into two triangular prism shaped pieces of a crosssectional size to fit triangular prism shaped tins constructed in accordance with the present invention. It will be understood, of course, that meat may be pressed in a triangular prism shape in the first instance.

The triangular prism shaped pieces are then packed in triangular prism shaped tins and the top 3 is then placed on each tin and secured by means of the seam 6. The top 3 is provided with a central perforation II for the escape of air, steam and other vapor during the processing or cooking of the meat which is done while the same is packed in the triangular prism shaped tin l.

The top is also provided at its lower face with a shield I2 preferably consisting of a flat disk dished at the central portion to form a shallow chamber of relatively large diameter and having a narrow fiat peripheral portion fitted against and secured to the lower face of the top and forming an intervening space [3 between the top and the shield. The space l3 communicates with the interior of the tin and with the perforation I I preferably by having portions of the periphery of the shield out of contact with the lower face of the top 3. The shield prevents the perforation I I from becoming clogged with particles both in the processing or cooking of the meat and when chilling the same.

The processed meat product is chilled in the triangular prism shaped tin while the same is vacuum drawn or exhausted and the exhausting of the tin results in a collapsing of the side walls of the tin and a compressible effect on the filled product so that the tin is more firmly and completely packed and air expelled and entirely excluded therefrom so that when the tin is sealed the meat will remain unchanged in its packed and processed condition for an indefinite period of time.

The meat pressed, cut, processed and packed in this manner provides for a proper distribution of the various muscles of the meat and for more convenient and economical slicing of the finished product, two slices of which will exactly fit a square sandwich loaf piece of bread.

Also the triangular form of the tin has the advantage of providing fiat panels for labels and provides a longer or taller can which may be more economically packed in boxes and arranged on shelves for the display of the goods; also the triangular shape allows for a quicker and more uniform heat penetration and consequently a more uniform processing of the meat.

It will be understood, of course, that although the present invention has been described in connection with a triangular prism shaped tin of the type described and claimed in my application filed January 30, 1932, Serial No. 589,802, the vent shield defined in the following claims may be employed in other types of containers.

What is claimed is:

1. A container closure top having a perforation shielded by a vent shield, said vent shield located on the inner side of said top, said shield provided with a peripheral marginal flange, portions of said flange being secured to said top and other portions being out of contact therewith to permit access of air.

2. A flat container closure top having a perforation shielded by a vent shield, said vent shield located onthe inner side of said top, said shield comprising a flat disk centrally dished and having a peripheral marginal flange, portions of said flange being secured to said top and other portions being out of contact therewith to permit access of air.

3. A flat container closure top having a perforation shielded by a vent shield, said vent shield located on the inner side of said top, said vent shield consisting of a fiat disk centrally dished and having a corrugated peripheral marginal flange, the upper portions of said corrugated flange being secured to said top, the other portions being out of contact therewith constituting means for permitting access of air. 

